Fourth Hike in a Row for the 4th: Teneriffe Falls (Kamikaze Falls)

The night before July 4th, 2017, I decided I was going to hike the morning of the fourth. At this point, my ankles were pretty swollen, but I was determined to hike whenever I had time. Mount Teneriffe had just had a new parking lot built AND some nice bathrooms right outside of the trailhead. The first portion was a windy 0.5 mile tread, the a straightforward 0.4 miles, ending with 1.9 miles of pretty gruel steep rocks, for a total of about 1600 feet in elevation gain. During the 0.4 mile section, the trail was lined with lethal foxtail wildflowers. Just the night before, my mom informed me that Jay would die if he ever ingested one of these flowers, so of course I was extra wary of what Jay was sniffing. If I had done this hike earlier this week, I am sure it wouldn’t have been as painful. Although it hurt much, the view and ambience at the top was absolutely stunning. The air was crisp and cool, and the waterfall wasn’t too big or small. We sat there taking in the whole scene for awhile before heading back down.